The trajectory of smoking cessation after treatment and its related factors in Taiwan

Smoking has multiple negative effects on health; therefore, the Taiwanese government provides smoking cessation clinics to smokers. This study aimed to explore the trajectory of smoking cessation after smokers received treatment and the variables related to different trajectories. A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted, in which 735 adult smokers who received smoking cessation medications were recruited. The participants’ demographic characteristics, chronic diseases, smoking characteristics, and cigarette dependence were collected from chart review. The amount of smoking was collected at baseline, and at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after treatment. The Proc Traj procedure for group-based modeling and multinomial logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. Three trajectories were identified: early quitters (28.03%), late quitters (11.43%) and reducers (60.54%). Compared with early quitters, reducers were younger and had a higher probability of severe cigarette dependence. Compared with early quitters, late quitters had a higher number of taking smoking cessation medications. The findings revealed that approximately 60% of participants who received smoking cessation treatment could not completely quit smoking, and that age, number of medications taken, and cigarette dependence were significant predictors of different trajectories.